English quartet set new world record for fastest hole

Ian Poulter, Tyrrell Hatton, Matthew Southgate and Matthew Fitzpatrick celebrate setting a new Guiness World Record for the fastest hole of golf at the Turkish Airlines Open at the Regnum Carya Resort. Picture: Getty Images

Team England, led by Ian Poulter, sensationally set a new Guinness World Records title for the fastest par-5 hole of golf by a team of four ahead of the Turkish Airlines Open.

The effort at the Regnum Carya resort shaved two seconds off the previous record time and beat Team South Africa by the finest of margins.

The European Tour challenged some its stars to break the existing record of 34.87 seconds, which was set last April by a French team.

That effort from Raphaël Jacquelin, Alexander Levy, Grégory Havret and Romain Wattel at the Real Club Valderrama Open de España was watched by more than ten million people across the European Tour’s platforms.

This time there was a difference, though, with the new record attempt taking place at night under floodlights on the 501-yard par-5 15th hole on the Regnum Carya Golf course in Belek.

France was once again part of a trio of four-man teams which attempted to break the record, with Levy returning as captain alongside Wattel, Matthieu Pavon and Mike Lorenzo-Vera. However, the quartet was unable to better the mark set in Spain last year. Instead, it was left to the English and South African teams to provide some incredible drama under the lights.

The South African quartet of Brandon Stone, Haydn Porteous, Dylan Frittelli and their captain George Coetzee clocked an impressive 32.96 seconds.

They were followed by Team England, captained by Poulter, who was joined by Tyrrell Hatton, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Matthew Southgate for their attempt.

Television replays were required to separate the two teams, but after a tense wait, it was finally confirmed that England had beaten the South African mark by a mere 0.26 seconds, setting a new record of 32.70 seconds.

The announcement sparked exuberant celebrations from Poulter, Hatton, Fitzpatrick and Southgate, with Poulter summing up the feelings of the team:

“It feels amazing,” he said. “I didn’t think I’d ever set a Guinness World Records title. But it’s there, with the lads, and it’s awesome.

And Fitzpatrick concluded: “The final celebration showed how it felt. We said if we won, we’d go mental. We kind of didn’t expect it, but it’s nice to walk away with this certificate, rather than a trophy.”